You remember doorbells, right? Those are home appliances or home devices that make ding dong sounds when somebody’s at the door. If that sounds antiquated or it sounds almost antique, welcome to twenty years ago.
Make no mistake about it, doorbell technology is old technology because it seems that door peephole cameras are fast replacing doorbells. It’s very easy to see why. When somebody rings your doorbell, you don’t know who it is. It can be the big bad wolf, or it could be Goldilocks. Who knows who is at your front door? However, when you have a door peephole camera installed, you see a full, high resolution view of the person’s face in front of your door.
The best part to all of this is that it’s being recorded. If it turns out that that person is a robber or somebody who intends to do you harm, you can always go back to the recording and give it to the police or any other authority. Do you see how this works?
Also, when somebody’s at the door, they may be hiding in a corner or they may be turning their head and you don’t know exactly what they’re up to. Also, if they’re wearing certain clothing, their features might be obscured. When you have a door peephole camera, all of that becomes immaterial.
High quality door peephole cameras can take such clear images that you can quickly see the facial structure of the people. You can easily tell whether these people at your door are actually people you know or are complete and total strangers. Again, all of this combines to increase the overall level of security you have on your premises.
Make no mistake about it, you have to make sure that you have a clear idea of who’s going in and out of the premises. At the very least, record this information so if something goes wrong, you at least have some sort of fallback. Unfortunately, if you are relying on outdated analog technology like doorbells, you’re basically out of luck. Seriously.
If that person is an assassin and knocks on your door, you don’t know who that person is. By the time you crack the door open and see that person eye to eye, it may be too late. That person already pulled the trigger. I don’t mean to scare you, but I want to wake you up to what’s at stake.
The great thing about peephole cameras is, for the most part, homeowners do not announce them. In other words, you’re not going to have a sticker on your door that says, “if you knock on my door, I’m recording who you are and I will have a permanent digital record of your likeness.” You’re not going to do that.
This is the ace card up your sleeve. This is your security advantage. In fact, you don’t have to announce anything at all. You don’t have to post up a sign. They basically go to your door at their own risk because they are being recorded.
On this level, peephole cameras are far superior to doorbells because you at least have some sort of advance warning. You have at least some way of knowing whether the person who is going to your door, asking to be let in, is somebody you actually already know.
The Drawback of Door Peephole Cameras
The big drawback to door peephole cameras is that they are dependent on power supply. Now, depending on the model you use, you might have a long battery life to work with. The door peephole camera might be able to last a long time before you change batteries. Still, there is still the energy source issue.
Now, you might be thinking that the easy solution to this is a direct connection to your home’s power supply. While this may be true for the most part, there is still the small matter of blackouts or energy shutdowns. Make no mistake about it, in some parts of the United States, blackouts do happen with quite a bit of frequency.
If you live in that area of the country, you may be out of luck. It may turn out that the person who steps to your door and starts knocking is the person who’s ready to punch you and beat you up. And the worst part to all of this is that, since the power went out, you have no footage of the assault. Do you see how this works?
While it’s true that door peephole cameras are superior to doorbells on many different levels, it is not a complete and total slam dunk. You still have to make sure that your system has at least some sort of power backup. Otherwise, you might not be getting as high of a level of security as you imagine.
Want to learn more? Checkout our Ultimate Guide to the Best Door Peephole Cameras!